


We're on the run (tonight)

by StoriesbyNessie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Kissing, Light Angst, POV Hermione Granger, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Running Away, Scars, Stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25106011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoriesbyNessie/pseuds/StoriesbyNessie
Summary: The stars are shining so bright, and Hermione Granger decides to have a little faith.
Relationships: Lavender Brown/Hermione Granger
Kudos: 9
Collections: Flighty Temptress





	We're on the run (tonight)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was a new ship and new characters for me to write. Hope I did them justice. Thank you to Gcgraywriter for hosting and allowing me to play in this little fest. I really enjoyed writing this.

**We’re on the run (tonight)**

“Oh, this is _so_ silly!” Hermione huffed in irritation, wondering what exactly she had got herself into. Hadn’t she camped enough for a lifetime going on that Horcrux hunt with Harry and Ron?

Yet, here she was, a large backpack on her back that still felt heavy despite the charms, another bag swinging from her right hand that contained their tent, and a company who wasn’t willing to help her. Hermione swore over the Muggle car they had left behind; it was a rental, and it had decided to break down in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but darkness, road and trees all around them and none of them owned a Muggle mobile phone.

One would think _The brightest Witch of Her Age_ would be able to fix the car with simple waves of her wand and a few words in Latin, and she probably could _and_ would, Hermione thought to herself with a frown, if they couldn’t get any help the Muggle way. She reasoned with herself that her decision of stepping deeper into the forest in the middle of the night was _only_ to look for help and _not_ because the stars shone bright, more brightly than Hermione ever had seen them before. They held so much promise in ways books couldn’t explain. She was sure of it.

_Yes, because what we’re doing now is not horror film-esque at all._

Hermione almost snorted to herself, as she thought about what Ron would say if he knew where she was now. He’d think she had gone mental, and maybe she had. _Both of them had._ Not Ron, but —

Lavender Brown walked slowly behind her, her gaze firmly fixed on the ground, arms crossed over her chest and her expression blank. She wore simple black leggings and a long, dark grey sweater matching Hermione’s own clothing perfectly. Hermione had taught her how to dress appropriately so they would go unnoticed in the Muggle society. Blend in. She remembered how Lavender had rolled her eyes when Hermione had said that, because both of them knew with the way Lavender looked nowadays, her pretty face forever scarred, they _wouldn’t_ blend in no matter how they dressed.

The sweater covered Lavender’s female curves, hiding them from view. But Hermione knew it wasn’t the curves Lavender wanted to hide, beneath the jersey fabric there were more scars: long, jagged and ugly. It was a miracle Lavender had survived the attack when Greyback sank his teeth into her pale flesh during the Battle.

Hermione swallowed hard, fighting the lump in her throat. She momentarily paused in her tracks, waiting for Lavender to catch up with her. Her eyes turned back to the path now, squinting in the dark. Not path, Hermione thought, just a muddy ground, wet grass and high treetops. Thank Merlin they headed towards summer. It wasn’t too cold out.

They walked a little further, heading deeper and deeper into the forest; their shoes leaving wet footprints behind. The only source of light was the starry sky, casting a cold white light over the two women's heads.It wasn’t enough. With a body aching from sleep deprivation, Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and dropped the tent in front of her with a muffled thump.

Maybe she could cast an innocent little _Lumos,_ there was no one around except for them… that she knew of. But despite being of age, it wasn’t worth it. It was too dark to make out any details and Hermione didn’t know where they were. At all.

Lavender stopped to Hermione’s right, arms still crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face.

“It’s dark,” she commented, stating the obvious.

“Not for long,” Hermione muttered, and with a sigh, she flung the backpack next to the tent, dropping to the ground too and winced slightly at the damp grass against her knees. She felt Lavender’s eyes on her as she struggled with the backpack’s zipper; it made a too loud _ritch-_ sound in the quiet around them when she got it open, almost startling her.

“What are you— ” Lavender sounded insecure and afraid. Lost. Hermione hated that tone. She knew how scared Lavender was of the dark. Of every shadow, every sudden motion now since… since the war.

“I’m looking for a torch,” Hermione shortly replied, immediately regretting the hint of annoyance in her voice.

“But you’re a witch!” Lavender said, whining. “Where’s your wand?”

“I can’t use it now.”

“But…”

Hermione heard the soft sounds of Lavender’s shoes against the muddy ground as Lavender shifted and dropped to her level. Lavender’s skin radiated warmth with her head so close to Hermione’s, the faint smell of her vanilla shampoo tickled Hermione’s nose. She froze for a second, unable to focus with the other woman so close. Then she dug around in the backpack again, almost considering to borrow one of Ron’s swear words to exclaim her frustration.

“It’s in here somewhere!”

Hermione knew she hadn’t forgotten to pack the torch. She had written a list for Merlin’s sake; the torch had been the first thing she had written down at the top of the very page in her notebook. That it wasn’t there now was impossible. She had gone through that list _three_ times. Three! Crossed off everything as it went into the rucksack. Done everything right. She dug deeper, fast and feeling agitated, her heart pounding in her chest. The more Hermione looked, the more she felt the control she so carefully held on to as a safety net, slip away from her. She had planned and organised and been so careful, and she couldn’t even find the bloody—

_“Hermione…”_ Lavender touched her arm, craving attention.

“What?!” Hermione snapped and jerked her head so fast she almost sprained her neck. She _knew_ the torch was in there somewhere, it was SUPPOSED to be, it was…

Lavender stroked her cheek carefully with her good hand, the one that wasn’t as terribly scarred and damaged as the other one. Hermione felt herself almost immediately relax a little beneath Lavender’s touch, and she instantly missed her when she seconds later pulled her hand away.

“We don’t have to do this,” Lavender said in a low voice. “Let’s…let’s go back.”

“It’s too late now,” Hermione protested, shaking her head wildly. “We’ve come this far.” Tears burnt and threatened to break free in her eyes. No, they couldn’t go back. It was the only thing they could _not_ do. She turned her gaze from Lavender to the content inside the backpack again and stared blankly at it, bone-tired and defeated.

_Enough with the torch,_ Hermione thought, desperately groping for her wand instead. When she didn’t find it either and was about to panic, to lose it completely, she heard Lavender mutter _Lumos_ next to her, her face ghostly white in the light conjured from her wand. Apparently she had found hers while Hermione hadn’t noticed.

Hermione drew in a shuddering breath; Lavender had brown eyes, and they looked straight into Hermione’s own, full of worry and fear. They showed what Hermione couldn’t and knowing that almost made her want to cry again.

Tendrils of curly, honey-blonde hair had escaped the braid on Lavender’s back, the very braid Hermione had made the same morning. She had loved Lavender’s soft hair between her fingers; it had been such a cosy morning and such a contrast to where they were now.

“What are we doing?” Lavender asked dubiously, and Hermione realised she didn’t truly know. They had talked about this and planned it for so long, but it was a difference between whispers in the night beneath a warm duvet and _something put into action._ Hermione usually questioned everything, but this… She hadn’t questioned this. They —she— had been so sure.

Because Hermione was certain they both _needed_ it. Heart had taken over reason, something that was rare for Hermione, but it had happened nonetheless. And she knew it was the right thing to do.

_We have nothing to go back to anyway._

Hermione gave Lavender a long look before leaning closer to her. “Getting rid of the chains,” she muttered against Lavender’s lips before claiming them in a warm kiss.

It was a kiss full of promise, determination and courage mixed with only a hint of fear. Fear Hermione refused to acknowledge that she had— they could do this. They could. Lavender kissed back and made a little desperate sound in her throat, and when they broke apart, Hermione wrapped her arms around her and held her close as carefully as she could. They fell backwards against the wet grass, gazing up to the stars.

Hermione decided that in a few moments, they would put up their tent, and tomorrow she would fix everything. Find her wand and the torch and try to repair the car. Who cared if anybody saw them out here; she couldn’t be afraid of that.

Everything would be okay. Hermione took a deep breath, and with her eyes on the sky, she decided that she would have a little faith for once.

Plans could only take them so far anyway.

_Fin_


End file.
